Devoloping Kick Ass Work Capacity
with Kettlebells
Zach Even – Esh
My friend and colleague Alwyn Cosgrove and I were speaking
the other day about fighters and how some can go on forever
while others seem dead after round one. We spoke about boxers
who were 40 years old and would fight twelve rounds and still
looked like they could go on for more. Then we spoke about some
MMA fighters who gassed out in round one. Certainly these are
two different sports requiring different needs in training,
but perhaps some of these needs are simply not being addressed.
The picture above depicts the preparation to go through a combination
of carries, presses and squats. The mind MUST be ready for this
intense style of training!
The most basic need is that of work capacity, sometimes called
GPP or down right and simple, conditioning. For grapplers and
MMA fighters there is no doubt that conditioning is key, especially
when a match or fight is very close. You have control over how
good of shape you can get in, so let’s take a look at
one method you can use to improve conditioning using kettlebells.
I sometimes refer to this method as “loaded conditioning”
because the athlete is conditioning themselves with movement
and resistance as opposed to only movement. This has a unique
effect since combat athletes are always moving another object
(another person) thus making this method very effective.
Above, hand over hand pulls with a 30 ft. rope and two kettlebells.
Try this for 5 minutes non stop mixed in with jogging! Pull
hand over hand to your feet, jog back until the rope is fully
extended, repeat for 5 minutes!
Above, attacking the kettlebells with bent over rows, seesaw
style.
If you can, use two kettlebells of the same weight. You will
begin by choosing three different kettlebell exercises and one
style of carrying the kettlebells. For example:
1) front squat (lower body exercise)
2) alternating military press (upper body exercise)
3) double snatch (full body exercise)
4) rack walk (carrying variation)
Notice how the exercises were chosen for this first variation
of “loaded conditioning”. We chose an exercise for
upper body, lower body, full body and one carry variation. Here
is how it works.
1) Set the clock for 5 minutes (we’ll choose 5 minutes
to simulate the round in an MMA or grappling event)
2) Perform an exercise for 5 reps
3) Perform the carry for 15 steps (count as you walk)
4) Move to the next exercise for 5 reps
5) Perform the carry again for 15 steps
6) Repeat this method of alternating an exercise for 5 reps
with 15 steps in the carry until the 5 minutes is over.
If you need to place the weights down, stop the clock and record
your time. You may need to start with 2 minute rounds and add
1 minute every week until you can do 5 minutes non stop, w/out
ever placing the kettlebells down.
Above, the kettlebell cross carry. One bell is up, the opposite
arm is down.
This round will teach you how to control your intensity and
breathing as well. If you can’t control your emotions
during this stressful 5 minute round you’ll likely have
the same problems during a match or fight. MMA fighters should
always perform these rounds with mouth piece in. In addition,
perform the rounds bare footed. Martin Rooney trains all his
fighters barefoot and they rarely experience foot injuries.
The more advanced method of “loaded conditioning”
will include more variety. You can also intensify the training
by manipulating things such as weight, reps, time, etc. Five
reps per set is just an example. You might want to try lower
reps / higher reps, more steps for the carries, etc.
Above, the double kettlebell squat.
Here is a more challenging workout using “loaded conditioning”:
1) Clean, squat & press combo x 5 reps
2) Cross carry (1 arm overhead, other arm at side / traditional
farmer walk carry) x 15 steps, then switch arm positions and
15 more steps
3) Double swings x 5
4) Cross Carry (same method as above)
5) Burpee + double snatch
6) Cross carry
As
you can see, the program above includes combo moves to really
step up the intensity. Five minutes of the above workout will
be much more taxing than 5 minutes of example 1. So as always,
I advise you to use your best judgment and increase the difficulty
slowly.
There are a few variations for using this method in your overall
program.
1) Use one 5 minute round at the end of your traditional strength
workouts.
2) Incorporate an energy system training day 1 – 2 x week
and use this method along with other energy system training
methods. This allows you to devote an entire day to energy system
training.
Remember, you have control over your preparation for combat.
Take advantage of this to ensure you have the edge over your
competition when it comes to conditioning. In addition, you’ll
have the mental edge knowing you didn’t take it easy when
it came to your conditioning as well as breaking the age old
distance running (which is not an effective tool for combat
athletes who need explosive conditioning!).
Zach Even – Esh is a Performance Coach for Combat Athletes
located in NJ. For more information visit www.UndergroundStrengthCoach.com
and www.CombatGrappler.com
